Ekiti 2018: 6 PDP aspirants suspend ambition, back Fayose

Ado-Ekiti—Some gubernatorial aspirants of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, in Ekiti state have suspended their ambition to enable Governor Ayodele Fayose seek  legal redress over his aborted first tenure as governor of the state, and possibly re-contest in the gubernatorial election in 2018.

 The aspirants  include current Deputy Governor of the state, Kolapo Olusola, from Ikere Local Government  Area, Bisi Omoyeni, Ikere LGA, Sikiru Tae Lawal, Ado LGA, Kayode Oso, Ado LGA, Owoseni Ajayi, Ise LGA and Bisi Komolafe, Efon LGA, said they suspended their gubernatorial aspirations pending the determination of the matter in court.

However the name of one of the party’s prominent aspirant and the spokesperson for the Ahmed Makarfi’s faction of the Peoples Democratic Party, Prince Dayo Adeyeye was conspicuously missing in the communique made available to newsmen in Ado-Ekiti yesterday.

The communique of their meeting which was co-signed by the aspirants and read by the Deputy Governor Olusola reads in part:

 “That the Supreme Court in the case of APC versus PDP & ORS resolved that the first tenure of Governor Peter Ayodele Fayose was unlawfully terminated in a civilian coup-like manner and hence deserves redress.’’

Breaking: Kidnapped Ondo APC Chieftain Olumide Odimayo found dead.

late Odimayo

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, party in Ondo state, Olumide Odimayo, aka “Londoner” who was kidnapped last week Thursday by unknown gunmen at his hometown in Igbotu has been found dead.

Some local vigilante members who confirmed this to newsmen said the corpse of Late Mr. Odimayo was found near Ogolo River, between Sabomi and Igbotu in Ese Odo Local Government Area of the state.

 The All Progressives Congress (APC) spokesman in the state, Mr.  Omo’ba Abayomi Adesanya expressed shock at the news, describing it as tragic. “The tragic death of Mr. Olumide Odimayo is a rude shock to us in the party because this is someone who came from London and started the struggle with us.

“I can’t get myself as I am speaking with you. Although, our party members have been sending their condolences to his family but his death is very painful to us all” he said.

Details soon…

Urohi Village: A Nostalgia of Global Citizen. - In Remembrance of my Late Father, Chief (Hon) A. A. Udebhulu (1912 -- April 21, 1979)

Prince Kelly visit village

By  Prince Kelly O. Udebhulu.

“Urohi is a Global village, in Esan West Local Government Area of Edo State. Perhaps tiny in the world map, but because it is in me, it has become a global village.
Urohi is a spirit place where I merge with nature, and I feel so completely whole and perfectly contented, It is just not a place but the heart of my relationships with myself and humanity.”  -Kelly O. Udebhulu (21/04/2017).

Though I presently live thousands of kilometers away and visit it seldomly, Urohi is still in control of my inner person and the best place on earth, I cherish very gratifying memories. It endears to me as a place where I started the journey of my life and has the roots of my upbringing under the tender and loving care of my people.

Our house was not an epitome of architecture but was definitely an embodiment of placid people embellished with warmth of love and affection. It is a house ( bungalow ) with an open parlor, seven bedrooms and the back door of the house was connected to the major compound architecturally fenced in a C-like pattern with attached leading five different doors which housed two bedrooms each that were occupied by my father's living five wives as the sixth was dead before I was born. Don't ask me why many wives?

It is not unconnected to the fact that my father was one of the first pioneered registrars at Ubiaja magistrate court and a political councilor under Action Group party during the NCNC and Action Group era in Nigeria.

This inward compound is the adobe of my brothers and sisters joined by our cousins where we would sit for hours together exploring the innumerable stars in the sky, and sharing and caring for each other relishing the delicious dishes made and served by one of my father's wives whose turn was at that evening- the superwoman of that particular evening.

Those immensely treasured moments are cherubic and perpetual in my memory.

I have a special relationship with my father being a clever child as he fondly called me, though I was very young, I can still recall it vividly as he sat in his old fashioned wooden chair whose arms are exceptionally polished to give that mirror surface look.

My father would sit in that chair with all of us around facing him while telling the stories of his times reminiscing the feelings of harmony and renewal. Ooh! Before I forget, I remembered the yellowish color "quinine" (liquid) medicine he would gave us in all illnesses that cured us miraculously as in today's miracle Pentecostal churches.

late Chief  A. A. Udebhulu

It is a beautiful village with picturesque landscapes, incredible variety of rare and native species of flora, peaceful and pristine environs of the echoing hills. The bright moon and glinting stars are visible against the pale sky, casting Urohi village into a luminous play ground at night.

How can I not mention the hospitality and amicability of the wonderful and diligent people in my village who welcome me with the same affection even today when I visit them?

Urohi taught me some of the most profound lessons in human relationship that today shape my world-view about life. This in fact has enriched the quality of life I live today in the so-called city.

My true identify come from my village where I belong. It is a feeling of paradise lost when I am not there, but my family, including my cousins, are in the village and even today I feel the same warmth a real home bestows and I constantly bombard myself with the childhood memories from the village and relinquish myself to the real contentment and gratification I esteemed and still esteem at this marvelous village.

Sometimes, we are comforted by the thought that a place is ours that we belong to it, even come from it, and therefore are tied to it in some fundamental way. Such places reaffirm our sense of self, reflecting back to us non-threatening picture of a ground identity.

And this is what my village is to me where am perfectly content because here I can revisit my upbringing values which have in fact positively affected my life, and this village is extremely meaningful to me as I am free to be my true self without having to pretend to be a person who I am not as in an otherwise pompous and conceited city now.

...to be continued.

SUMMARY OF THE JUDGEMENT BY JUSTICE BADAMASI LED PANEL OF EDO ELECTION PETITION TRIBUNAL THAT AFFIRMED THE MANDATE OF GOV. GODWIN OBASEKI

Justice Badamasi noted that the petitioners strayed from their petition when they abandoned the issue of corrupt practices for non compliance with the Electoral Act, saying “they went on the journey without evidence”.

According to Justice Badamasi: “The petitioners wanted to be clever by half when they chose to confine themselves to non compliance and in a nutshell they have abandoned their pleadings in respect of corrupt practices and we so hold.

This means that the petitioners did not prove their allegation of corrupt practices beyond reasonable doubt.

What is begging for an answer is that what is the implication to the petitioner’s failure to specifically claim a relief for nullification of the election based on corrupt practices and what is the effect of abandoning their pleadings on the allegation of corrupt practices?

“While it is true that the petitioners have claimed in their alternative plea the nullification of the election for substantial non compliance with the provision of the Electoral Act where non compliance affected the result of the election, this does not take the place of allegation of corrupt practices which the petitioners made a ground in the petition as the two reliefs are materially different.

In the case of Ozoku VS Izoni it said because of the major role reliefs play in judicial process, Counsel must take all the time he has in the world to draft it very carefully, he must not be in a hurry, he has to go over available evidence and regulate the reliefs accordingly.

When the relief does not reflect the cause of action in the available evidence, the court of law will throw out the matter. The absence of a separate relief in the nullification of the election based on corrupt practices is in our view very fatal to the case of the petitioner and we so hold.

By abandoning the pleadings on corrupt practices we are left with no means of separating the pleadings of corrupt practices with the other averrments.

“In order words we cannot see the grounds of corrupt practices in the account. Accordingly, these two issues are hereby resolved against the petitioner”.

Asserting that the petitioners failed to prove the allegation of over voting, the tribunal said;

“ In the case of Nduke Loius VS INEC it was held that over voting can only occur when the total number of votes cast exceeds the total number of registered voters in the polling units. One could vividly see that the emphasis is on the registered voters and not accredited voters. For a petitioner to prove the allegation of over voting he must cross the following hurdles:

One, tender the registered voters in the units he is challenging, Two, ,tender the voters register but in this case none of such was done before the court.

“We had earlier in the course of this judgement held that the petitioners conceded that they have abandoned their pleadings on corrupt practices, that may not be the only pleadings the petitioners abandoned.

A careful assessment of the witnesses called by the petitioners to prove their case, will reveal that the petitioners abandoned their case in a lot of the polling units, wards and Local government having not called witnesses in those areas, notwithstanding tendering to the bar documents relating to such polling units.

“The petitioners did not call witnesses in the following units; In Akoko Edo, all polling units in ward 3& 6, Etsako East, all polling units in ward 3,7&9. Ikpoba Okhai all polling units in ward 2,3&14; Oredo all polling units in ward 2,9& 12; Egor, all polling units of ward 6&10; Orhiomwon all polling units in wards 2, 5,7 & 12; Igueben all polling units in ward 2,5& 10; Owan East all polling units of ward 1,2,3,7&11; Esan all polling units of ward 3,5&8;Etsako Central all polling units of ward 2,3,7,9&10; Esan Central no witness was called in the entire local government.

“It is clear that pleadings without evidence is nonsense.

The petitioners are challenging the elections on the basis of non compliance in 2,627 polling units in the state. they led evidence to prove their case from 92 witnesses, and out of that 92 witnesses, 27 are polling units agents, two witnesses subpoenaed witnesses, while the remaining 63 are all ward collation agents.

Earlier in the course of this judgment we alluded to the fact that by the provision of section 126 of the Evidence Act, oral evidence shall in all cases be direct.

“All the collation agents that testified in this case did not give direct evidence of what transpired in polling units, rather they relied on information from their ward collation agents and stated under cross examination that their polling agents are still alive and can be produced.

We wonder why those polling unit agents were not called by the petitioners? The ward collation agents are not super men to be at different polling units and their wards at the same time.
“A ward collation agent can only give evidence of what happened at collation centers and not at polling units where he did not visit. The polling agents are more competent to testify on what happened in their polling units. The 27 or 29 polling agents that testified before this court were discredited during cross examination.

“Most of these witnesses when confronted with the voters register stated figures that contradicted their depositions and because of that most of them were discredited. Their witnesses did not demonstrate the ability of their documents to their case. It is the duty of the petitioners tendering documents to link them to the relevance of their case.

“From the evidence adduced from this issue, the much talked about absence of accreditation or improper accreditation in relation to ticking either to the left or the right by voters have not been specifically pleaded in any of the polling units.

The petitioners merely dumped the electoral documents on us without taking steps to link them to specific areas thereby rendering the documents valueless as we do not ascribe any value to them”.
On the claim that INEC failed to call witnesses in the course of the trial, the tribunal ruled that they were right not to have called witnesses, explaining that the evidence provided by the witnesses during cross examination were that of INEC.

In the case between Omisore VS Aregbesola, the Supreme Court ruled that failure to call any witness by INEC did not affect the case adversely in any way.

“In other words, by the very act of cross examining the witnesses of the petitioners, it is not in dispute that all the evidence extracted during cross examination of the witnesses are evidence of INEC.

From the above Supreme Court authorities INEC cannot be deemed to have abandoned its pleadings merely because it did not call witnesses. The position of the law is that a party can establish his case through the witnesses of the other party by revisiting evidence under cross examination. Evidence got during cross examination is as good as evidence given during evidence-in-chief.

The argument that INEC did not call witnesses does not hold water at all.

“In the petitioners’ attempt to prove their case of B evidence. The petitioners have not in our view led credible evidence to justify the grounds of their relief.

“On the whole we hold that the petitioners have not by credible evidence proved their case and have failed to show that they are entitled to their reliefs.

Accordingly this petition is hereby dismissed. The return of Godwin Obaseki as governor is hereby upheld” he declared.

Edo PDP lawmaker drums up support for Obaseki.

Gov. Obaseki

BENIN—THE member representing Egor/Ikpoba Okhai federal constituency of Edo State, in the House of Representatives, Mr Ehioze Agbonayinma, weekend, urged other members of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the state to jettison political differences and support Governor Godwin Obaseki.

Agbonayinma, who also is a chieftain of the PDP in the state, congratulated Governor Obaseki on his victory at the state governorship Election Petition Tribunal and charged the people of the state to jettison political interests and support the governor since he has been affirmed by the tribunal as the winner of the September 28, 2016 governorship election in the state.

According to him, “I said it after the election that the result reflected the true picture of the votes of the people of Edo State and that Obaseki won the election. And it happened due to the factional crisis wrecking the PDP and failure of Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to recognise the authentic candidate of the PDP, which is Matthew Iduoriyekemwen, because we have always said that Ali Modu Sheriff is the authentic national chairman of the PDP.

“So, we must all join hands to pilot the affairs of our great state. We must all put partisan politics aside. Edo State must rise again.”

I believe that every Edo indigene should put the interest of the people in front. This is the time to work together and support the governor.

I want to thank the Oba of Benin for standing up for the development of the state. This is not about political party, this is about our state.”

BREAKING: Gov Obaseki wins at Edo Tribunal

Godwin Obaseki

Kelly O. Udebhulu reports.

BENIN CITY-The Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Benin has upheld the election of Governor Godwin Obaseki, declaring that the petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party  (PDP) and its candidate, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, to be declared winner of the election lacked merit.

The Tribunal stated among other things that the reliance of the petitioners on the ticking of the name of a prospective voter on the left side of the voters’ register to mark complete accreditation was only an administrative guideline for election officials.

more details soon.

INTERVIEW: Oba Ewuare 11 would do better to help match-make the tiers of government with the Traditional Council of Edo State progressively, in which he permanently presides, Arc Emuan assures Edolites.

Arc Austin Ilenre Emuan

AUSTIN ILENRE EMUAN, Chartererd Architect, Distributive Development Expert, Environmentalist and Moral Economist is full of praises for the newly coronated 40^th monarch of the Benin Kingdom, Oba Ewuare N’Ogidigan II, for his swift moves to better the lives of the Edo people. EMUANharbours such motivating and revolutionary views for the spectacular and upscale movement of the Nigerian nation from the valley, particularly Edo society, which brings him to the same school of thought with the new Oba of Benin. In this interview, as with some others he had with our reporters. ARC. EMUAN, is also a Neo-Structural Scholar, Bi-Cultural proponent and former governorship aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC) political party, in the most recent election in Edo State, talks mostly about the prospects of the Edo people, amongst other issues.

Que: The coronation of the 40^th Oba of Benin was concluded about a week ago. What are your impressions about it?

Emuan: Indeed, the very colourfulcoronation of the Oba Ewuare N’ Ogidigan, the 40^th Oba of the Great Benin kingdom has come and gone, but a memorable impression has been left with peoples of the world that the Bini Empire of the old, now Edo State,remains the cradle of sustainable culture that earns its respect and originality around the globe.Behold the coronation, following its meticulous planning and pageantry, is akin to the usual ascension to the throne of Queen Elizabeth, the monarch of the Great Britain. Witnessing it is a lifelong souvenir for me, because I was very young to grasp the depth of similar experience in 1979, when the last Oba Erediauwa was installed.I dare say that with the display of such cultural supremacy, I am proud to be an Edo Man!

Que: What is your take as the Oba Ewuare the II, shortly after the coronation events, started actualizing some of the pre-coronation promises he made to his people?

Emuan: I thank His Royal Majesty, Oba Ewuare N’ Ogidigan II,for not only professing such remarkable and public-uplift policies, but without taking a break after the rigorous and tiresome coronation process; embarked on the delivery of his promises to the Edo people. This definitely speaks boldly that our dynamic Oba Ewuare II is ready to serve his people and bequeath to them and the Nigerian societyat large, a legacymuch better than the one he inherited. Intrestingly, he is already living up to his title of Oba Ewuare N’ Ogidigan II, continuing and upscalingthe commendable reformed works of the old Bini Empire, as once carried out by the monarch of all time;Oba Ewuare N’ Ogidigan I, who reigned from 1440 to 1473 A.D., and whose great works he seeks to take after,and even surpass. With the thorough grooming and exposure of our current Oba, Edo would witness great innovations than that of Oba Ewuare I, who till date is unarguably regarded as the greatest Oba in Edo history.

Que: Could you tell us some areas of reformation you think the new Oba has begun to make the desired impacts?

Emuan: I was very touched by his humble pleadings with government to make life bearable for Nigerians through the provision ofgood quality governance. He also passionately and courageously told the Nigerian ruling class that Nigerians are hungry and impoverished and that something urgent has to be done to remedy the ugly situation. This will enhance speed in the implementation of people orientated programs of Buhari/APC government.

 That shows that he has the true royalty and the milk of human kindness flowing in his veins. It demonstrates that he has a very soft spot for the poor and needy. His appeal to government to develop the Gelegeleaccess road and river port, in Edo, was very apt. This Project has and is still close to my heart and having strived to bring some Japanese investors to develop the river port some years back, I know the importance of the project and what government must do tobring such laudable projects into reality.

Que: What about his suspension of Community Development Associations (CDAs) in the seven local government areas of Edo South zone?

Emuan: It is the best and justified decision to take particularly when the CDAs are mainly implicated in going against some of the very principles for which they were established. To me, it is a calculated step towards achieving a sustainable peace in Edo and the people are very happy with the decision. And without prejudice to the purpose for which the CDAs were set up, the Oba in his wisdom has directed that there activities be overseen by Edionweles and Enogies so that He can adjudicate over issues more effectively. This stand, I advise should permeate the rest zonesof Edo State and a further and proper framework worked out for traditional institutions, Government and non-governmental entities to work harmoniously for the betterment of the Edo people in such areas as Security, Coordinated community development, Social and Cultural Integration etc.

Que: But often, the functions of government clash with that of traditional institutions?

Emuan: With the ascension to the throne of our erudite Oba, those grey areas are bound to be sorted out for the grassroots people to benefit. An item of my governorship agenda pursuit, under the All Progressives Congress (APC), in last primary election, is Biculturalism which is: A Strategy of theintegration of homegrown norms with that of other selected good impacting Cultures with the sole intent to deploy them for a holistic and dynamic development boost. Even then, with the memorable reign of Oba EwuareI several centuries ago, bi-cultural policy transformation had brought Bini to greater leaps and global prominence, because Oba EwuareI combined native intelligence and external policy strategies of foreign climes like Britain, Portugal, Spain, Dutch etc., which the old Bini Empire shared relationship with. Like I expressed before, our present Oba is more equipped to reinvent Edo, in the current vogue of globalization.

Que: As a man from the Esan speaking area of Edo state, how come you speak so authoritatively about Benin? Are you a historian?

Emuan: I am not a historian but only have a good sense of our history. Again, I will remind you that there is no difference between a Bini, Esan, or people from Etsako, Owan, Akoko Edo etc. Of course, all the people from here are children of the same parentage. Benin City is our common centre and capital of the state and a home to all. As it is usually said, Benin City is the sitting room of the home,where everybody sits and relates, while the different Edo towns are the bedrooms of the same home. We are all chips from the same ancestral stock. Edo Is One! Like I always and still opine in my political campaign mantra.

Que: Is that not wonderful?

Emuan:‘Edo Is One’, happens to have been the slogan of my governorship campaign outfit. By the way, it would interest you that I was born and given early upbringing in Auchi, Edo North, whereas Egoro Kingdom, in Edo Centraldistrict of Esan LGAis my origin. Benin City is a place where I had a very great orientation, under the mentorship of the Late Rev. (Fr.) Theophilus Uwaifo. And my setting up and sponsorship of the Oba Erediauwa Green Award is in honour of our last Obas, who had joined our ancestors. We as Edo people must NOT see Edo as  different tribes and divisions.

Que: Really?

Emuan: Edo is homogenous. Unfortunately, it is people with selfish tendencies that try to create big gaps between the co-joined units that make Edo because they want to unduly benefit from a divisiveness that is virtual. That is why we should all work together to make Biniwith extracts from other dialects in Edo, a common language spoken throughout the state. Here, I task our Linguists to blend that and develop a lingua-franca for Edopeople.The promise of the choice of Bini language to be taught in elementary and secondary schools in the state, alongside other dialects, is a good step to promoting unity amongst the Edos. The clamor to re-introduce indigenous history in our school curriculum by our new Oba would also give a sense of knowledge of indigenous history, patriotism and nationalism to our younger generations, who do not know much about their culture and history.

Que: But, can Bini history spur the love for the Edo society and Nigeria?

Emuan: Indeed, Bini history is very rich and as a matter of fact, Edo pre-colonial and pre-independence history is known to be richer than that of the whole Nigeria put together. Edo, before the colonial era was the greatestempire in Africa and also well known as the cradle and Centre of black civilization. Our generations of young and adult Edos and Nigerians would find as mentoring examples in great kings like Oba Ewuare I (who was actually very great) and others whose manlike exploits like the Octopus, stretched the influence and sovereignty of the old BiniEmpire within and beyond the Nigeria country of today. Everyone  marvels how with bare hands and manual labour ancestral Binis were able to excavate the deep and gigantic Bini moat work that is over 6,000 kilometers distance, which is regarded as the largest manual earthworks, on earth with the famous Chinese walls next to it? The knowledge of indigenous history could motivate our today’s people to excel the feat of the Bini moat, which is still very difficult to achieve today, even with the deployment modern bulldozers and other earth moving equipment.

Que: Perhaps, this is what some group of thought means by the choice of Oba Ewuare II by the new Oba, as having been inspired by the great feats of the Oba Ewuare N’ Ogidigan I?

Emuan: Absolutely so!

Que: With all these already said, what other areas of reformation would you recommend for the new Oba, so that his era would be first in Benin history?

Emuan: That his reign should strive to unite all Edo people at home and in the Diaspora, with him as a father to all. He would do better to help match-make the tiers of government with the Traditional Council of Edo State, in which he permanently presides, in order to attune the Edo public to his truly reformed agenda to help the people.

Also desired is a move to influence Edo traditional rulers and traditional institutions to abstain from partisan politics, as it stalls even development and cause division amongst the people. I also advocate for the development of the entire Edo rural area, particularly in Edo south senatorial district, where villages are abandoned for urban centres, for non-Edo indigenes to take over. In future,if not now, original ownersof the lands usually find it difficult to retrieve their lands from the settlers. This if not taken serious is a potential source of conflict waiting to happen. My policy trust on this was an approach I christened EDO ECONOMIC VILLAGE RENEWAL aka ‘YOURS EVER’. This was a strategy to ensure that our communities become the core and driving arm of distributive development from where authentic development radiates and permeates to other parts of the State.

Que: Prying into the future, how would you describe this new era of our Oba?

Emuan: First of all I think the choice of the title, Oba Ewuare N’ Ogidigan II, is indicative of the factthat he will be up in tandem with the great exploits of his progenitor Oba Ewuare I. Secondly, the new Oba has set an unusual precedent by proving historians wrong that he is not the 39^th but 40^th Oba on the list. There is an Oronmiyan, the first Oba who we may interpret to mean that a Greater Bini era has just begun, since it is universally believed that “Life actually begins at 40”. To me “Oba Ewuaren’Ogidigan II is the veritable symbol of a greater and modern Edo.”I congratulate the whole Edo people on been blessed with our OBA in THRONE! OBA TOKPEEA!!, ISE!!!